Soros: Germany should bail out the euro

Share this article

A new approach to saving the euro is needed and Germany should finance it, George Soros, the star investor and hedge fund manager told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

The US investor, known for nearly bringing the Bank of England to its knees in a wave of currency speculation in 1992, laid out an elaborate plan for saving the common currency, in an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

He was also quick to blame the German government and its federal bank, the Bundesbank, for the euro's current woes.

“German policy and above all the Bundesbank stuck with their rigid dogma and it is making it dangerous for the euro,” he said.

But the bottom line of his thinking is that Germany, as the continent's strongest economy and big winner from the common currency, needs to finance the way out of the current monetary mess.

“The Germans have to decide if they want the euro or not,” Soros said. “If they do, then they have to make the transfers. If not, they should leave [the currency zone].”

But a German exit from the euro would provoke serious damage to German exports, Soros notes. “The new German currency would appreciate sharply,” he warned.

Soros, a US investor with Hungarian roots, said, “there is no (currency) union without transfers – either political or monetary.”

Member comments

From our sponsors

A full-time job shouldn't stop you from satisfying your wanderlust. The Local spoke to Travel After 5 blogger Alline Waldhelm to find out her tips and tricks for travellers who only have 25 days of annual leave.